The Great Nicobar Project: A Case for Forest Rights and the 'Rights of Nature'
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Environment & Ecology (Forest Rights Act 2006, Biodiversity Hotspots, Niyamgiri Hills); Indian Polity and Governance (Powers of Gram Sabha, Judiciary - Landmark cases like the Niyamgiri case, Legal Personhood).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 1 (Society & Geography): Geographical features and their location; Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India; Role of women and women's organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies (issues related to tribal communities).
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections (Tribals); Important aspects of governance.
General Studies Paper 3 (Environment): Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. The "Rights of Nature" is an emerging and important concept in environmental jurisprudence.
Key Highlights from the News
Mega project proposed by the central government on Great Nicobar Island in Andaman and Nicobar raises serious concerns about its adverse impact on the forests and tribal communities there.
This article discusses two main legal concepts regarding this issue:
Forest Rights Act, 2006:
The Niyamgiri Hills case in Odisha is a significant precedent on this matter. According to this verdict, the permission of the local Gram Sabha is mandatory before forest land in an area is allotted for development.
In the Nicobar project, there are allegations that the administration made false statements claiming that the rights of tribal communities had been addressed.
"Rights of Nature":
This is a new legal concept that grants legal personhood and rights to natural entities like rivers, mountains, and forests, similar to humans.
Countries like Ecuador, Colombia, and New Zealand have implemented this. In India, the Uttarakhand High Court granted this status to the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in 2017 (later stayed by the Supreme Court).
The article argues that the Forest Rights Act should be strictly implemented, and serious consideration should be given to recognizing the Rights of Nature to prevent development projects from becoming "planned disasters."
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